


Charles and the Game of the Factory

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Charles Is a Darling, Emotionally Crippled Erik Is Fun To Read, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, M/M, Resolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-12
Updated: 2013-03-12
Packaged: 2017-12-05 03:07:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/718158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles Xavier finds the last of Lehnsherr's golden tickets - a ticket into the mysterious and enigmatic world of Erik Lehnsherr, candy maker extraordinaire. His life as the son denied his family's wealth will never be the same, in more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charles and the Game of the Factory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pangea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pangea/gifts).



> Inspired by [this post](http://pangeasplits.tumblr.com/post/45194247824/okay-so-why-dont-we-have-a-charles-and-the) and well, that's how it goes.
> 
> Charles is fourteen when this starts, as an aside.

Shiny yellow peeks out as Charles opened his one and only chocolate bar of the month. His parents, despite their wealth and power, were keen to deny Charles the trappings of luxury.

To make him better, they had said.

But the golden ticket was still inside his bar.

It was his ticket away from the dichotomy of a life of luxury that had been denied him, his ticket into a world where he would have money and power. He would go to Lehnsherr’s Chocolate Factory and see the world that this ticket opened to him.

-

Lehnsherr was odd, to say the least. He wore a bright purple velvet coat over a magenta shirt along with a top hat that combined the two colors in some way that screamed _insane candyman_.

Charles watched the other children: Emma with her insistent whining to her parents, Alex with his guns and television obsession, Raven with her love of chewing gum, and Sean with his love of candy. He wondered if they were going to win, given how much the other four all looked at Lehnsherr like they were meant to spent time together.

Logan, crazy old Logan the groundsman, looked at Charles with pride. No matter how the day went, Charles was proud he was sharing it with Logan.

-

Sean drowned in the chocolate river, several little sentinels unable to grab his feet. Lehnsherr sent several others down to the drainage system to look for the redhead.

Lehnsherr sounded as if there was no hope, but the wails from Sean’s parents were just loud enough to make Charles think that everyone here was to be placated by the end of the tour.

-

Raven looked at the gum and _had_ to try it, even as Lehnsherr said that the tests were still ongoing.

She chewed and chewed - and then ballooned into a girl-sized blueberry!

Sentinels rolled her away and Lehnsherr kept up the tour.

Charles said nothing, having seen just how snappish and temperamental the candyman was.

-

Whining was what Emma excelled at, but even her constant begging and pleading could not convince Lehnsherr to let her into the Nut Room.

Instead she found a way to sneak into that forbidden room - and those left on the tour were left to gawp as scores of squirrels ate her up, bit by white-jacketed bit.

Charles shared a look with Logan, but still said nothing.

-

In the teevee room, Alex shrunk himself, realizing his life-long dream of being on teevee.

Charles, Logan and Lehnsherr were left.

Charles had won.

Lehnsherr held out the keys to the entire factory for Charles: a gift for being the least annoying of the five children.

The victory felt somewhat hollow, but Charles let it pass.

His parents had no use for a candy factory, but he and Logan sure did.

-

_Winning_ meant that Charles now owned all of Lehnsherr Chocolates, but that did not mean that Lehnsherr was out of the picture.

Instead of retiring like he had said, Lehnsherr was ever present in the factory’s development rooms, still looking for new creative chocolates and sweets.

Charles always thought it odd, though he said nothing until he finally understood what he thought Lehnsherr was doing.

Outward appearances aside, Lehnsherr was a scared man - burdened by some oppressive guilt - a guilt that he never shared with anyone else.

Lehnsherr haunted the living quarters just as he stalked the development area.

Charles found Lehnsherr’s attitude queer, but after three years together in the factory, those moods were no longer new, just equally curious.

Lehnsherr said nothing when he ate with Charles and Logan.

Charles found it all confusing.

He chose to focus on a new line of candy for the next year than to think through Lehnsherr’s moods.

-

Even after spending four years at the factory, Charles still couldn't explain why Lehnsherr stayed. Lehnsherr was meant to retire - to leave - and yet he stayed. That Lehnsherr had stayed was one of their unanswered questions and answers - the game they played to keep each other guessing.

The game had many levels, but at the most basic, they each walked around each other, tension ready to bubble.

Charles thought Lehnsherr’s decision lay in his love for candy, but that seemed far too simple and in the game, there was no time to try and understand psyche and id.

Deep down, Charles knew that he allowed Lehnsherr to stay because the man was an enigma, the sort of puzzle that Charles wanted to unlock and undo. There had to be such secrets hidden in those wide smirks, in the devilish gleam in those eyes, and Charles wanted them all.

-

The next big idea for Lehnsherr Chocolates rested in Charles’ mind. The game had become so drawn out that all Charles thought of was how to suss out Lehnsherr’s motives for staying.

In the development room, Charles explained what he had in mind: a candy that would reveal one deep dark passion for anyone who tried it.

There was no money to be made in this candy, he knew, but he also knew that the Lehnsherr name always suggested something just out of reach for everyone else.

Someone, or a few someones, would try it.

-

Development had been hard at work on Charles’ idea for months, test after test to get the right balance between flavor and desire.

Charles was still looking for the time to test the candy on himself - but then Lehnsherr walked into the room just as some of the Sentinels came in to announce that the initial checks had been completed.

He chatted with all the team about families and hobbies before he calmly asked, “What does this do?”

One tech said, “It helps expose a secret.”

Lehnsherr hummed his approval. “May I?”

The tech nodded and Charles watched as Lehnsherr popped the small chew in his mouth.

Charles watched as Lehnsherr ate the candy, and just as he had finished, Lehnsherr stalked into Charles’ space and kissed him.

The kiss was hard, insistent and a shock to Charles, though he now supposed that this was one of those secrets in their game. Charles responded to the kiss, letting his curiosity win out.

Lehnsherr’s mouth was perfect against his own, and as Lehnsherr sought to deepen the kiss, Charles found his hands pulling Lehnsherr’s body closer, eager to do more than just explore his mouth.

He heard Lehnsherr hum in approval as one of his hands fell onto Lehnsherr's ass, as the other slid into the front of Lehnsherr's trousers.

Vaguely, Charles knew that their game was over - they each had their answers.

-

In point of fact, the game was not over with their first kiss. It seemed Lehnsherr - Erik - had plenty of other secrets he wanted to reveal.

Charles found them all fascinating, especially when the next one provided _some_ insight into why Erik had never left those five years before.

Erik had long been lusting after Charles, and the knowledge only served to thrill Charles all the more.

He had been spotted, he had been singled out, seen as someone who should be given attention - and lots of it. And now, he was going to take advantage of just how much Erik had wanted him

**Author's Note:**

> Tagged as Underage for Erik's thoughts starting when Charles was very much underage.
> 
> Betaed by **ninemoons42**.


End file.
